


Danvers-Sawyer Family Snapshots

by Lexie_Raven



Series: The Immortal Life of Alex Danvers [3]
Category: Highlander: The Series, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 12:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13123314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexie_Raven/pseuds/Lexie_Raven
Summary: One-Shot series set in the universe I created in 'Forever' Parts One and Two.  Focused on Alex, Maggie, and Jamie, with appearances by other members of the Superfamily.Prompts for future one-shots on this theme are welcome.  Please leave them in the comments.





	Danvers-Sawyer Family Snapshots

**Author's Note:**

> As a Christmas present to everyone, here is the first one-shot follow-up to my Supergirl/Highlander crossover. If you haven't read that story, you'll probably be a bit lost. This bit takes place during the time jump in Chapter 16 of Part 2 (between Alex and Maggie's reunion and their wedding two years later). A quick refresher: Lena is also immortal, Maggie was left paralyzed by Henshaw's attack at the end of Part 1, Jeremiah is back (and likewise immortal, plus much older than they believed), Kara and Lena adopted the young Toomian introduced in Part 2, Chapter 1, and Alex and Maggie have Jamie (made possible by Lena adapting some of the Birthing Matrix tech from the Fortress for human use). The poem Maggie references in this one-shot is "Can Santa Be Black" by B.J. Wrights (first published in Ms. Magazine, December 1984).

December 25, 2018 

“Aunt Lexie!!!”

Alex barely had time to open her eyes before about 30 pounds of fur landed right on her stomach. Biting back a groan, she gently shifted the overexcited toddler so he was sitting next to her on the bed. As she did, Alex glanced at the clock. 6 AM. “Cody, do you have any idea what time it is?”

“It Christmas!!!”

“And it’s also way too early for a certain little boy to be up. Pretty sure Santa won’t be coming until later. Much later.”

“Nu-uh,” Cody argued. “He be here soon. Mama told me.”

Alex sighed. After spending half the night putting together the kids’ gifts and then hiding them for ‘Santa’ to retrieve later so he could hand them out personally, all she wanted to do was sleep. Just a little longer. “Where is your Mama?”

“In guest room. She sleepy.”

“And your Mommy?”

Cody shrugged. “Don’t know. We open presents now?”

“Not yet, Cody.”

“Why not?”

“Because Jamie is still sleeping. And it’s her first Christmas, so it would be mean to start without her. You don’t want to be mean to your baby cousin on Christmas, do you?” Cody shook his head. “That’s what I thought. Why don’t you just lay down here with Aunt Lexie for a little while? And when Jamie wakes up, we’ll go get your Mama up and all go downstairs together. Okay?”

“Kay,” he mumbled, snuggling up next to her and sticking his thumb in his mouth. And Alex couldn’t help but melt a little at the sight. Her nephew looked way-too-adorable in his reindeer onesie (which came complete with a hood that had little felt antlers attached). Wrapping an arm around the tiny Toomian, Alex glanced over at her fiancé, somewhat envious of Maggie’s apparent ability to sleep through just about anything. Gertrude was curled up at Maggie’s feet, snoring, and also completely oblivious. Definitely not guard dog material. Alex closed her eyes, and was almost asleep when a loud cry erupted from the baby monitor on the night stand.

“I’m up, I’m up….” She started to rise, only to find that Maggie had beaten her to it. Apparently, Jamie’s cries were all the alarm she needed. “I can get her,” Alex insisted.

Smiling, Maggie pulled her into a soft kiss. “Much as I appreciate the offer, that’s Jamie’s hungry cry. And I didn’t get around to making up any bottles last night. Besides, it looks like you’ve got your hands full.” She followed Maggie’s gaze to the toddler curled up by her side, already asleep once more. “I take it someone was a little too eager to get things started?”

“Yep. Remind me to insist that Kara and Lena spend Christmas Eve at their own place next year, and bring the kids over first thing. Like normal people. I love them, but once Jamie starts walking and speaking full sentences I think that’ll be all the Christmas enthusiasm I can take at 6 in the morning.”

“To be fair,” Maggie chuckled, “you’re the one who insisted on putting the gifts together yourself. Lena did offer to have it taken care of.”

“Just because my sister-in-law has more money than God doesn’t mean I have to take advantage.”

“You didn’t complain when she arranged to have the lift installed after we bought this place.”

“That’s because you needed it. Leaving you stuck on the first floor was never an option.”

“I know,” Maggie smiled, kissing her once more. Only for the moment to be interrupted by more crying. “I’ll take care of Jamie, while you deal with our nephew. And I’ll let our special guest know that we’ll be ready soon. Say, an hour?”

“Works for me. Meet us downstairs?”

“Will do. Come on, sleepyhead,” Maggie added, playfully poking at Gertrude. The dog woke up, licked Maggie’s face, then slipped right into ‘work’ mode and helped Maggie transfer to the chair sitting next to their bed. Gertrude quickly grabbed a set of pajama pants from the dresser and brought them to Maggie, who slipped them on with practiced ease. Once settled, Maggie maneuvered around the bed and pulled Alex into one last kiss before she and Gertrude left the room to check in on Jamie. Alex moved over to Maggie’s side of the bed, taking care not to disturb Cody, then slipped out and pulled on her own pajama pants to match her fiancé’s – the red and green Christmas ones Kara had insisted all the adults should have. They didn’t quite match Alex’s black sleep shirt – or Maggie’s gray one, for that matter – but neither of them had any intention of wearing the ones that came with the pants. Alex drew the line at anything with cartoon characters, and her fiancé agreed. Kara would just have to deal with disappointment. Shaking her head, Alex picked Cody up from the bed.

“Aunt Lexie?” he mumbled around his thumb.

“We’re just going to go see what’s keeping your moms, okay?”

“Kay.” He snuggled his head into the crook of her neck as she carried him over to the guest room. Kara was still asleep, one arm laying protectively over her swollen stomach. Lena – with some help from Alex – finally figured out how to combine human and alien DNA safely, and Kara was currently about halfway into her pregnancy. The Kryptonian gestation period was about six months – or, at least, that’s what it had been for her Aunt Lara – but with the baby being half human they figured it might be closer to seven or eight. At this point, it was likely they could find out the sex, but both Kara and Lena had refused. They wanted to be surprised. So, Cody knew he was getting a sibling, just not whether it would be a brother or sister. “Where Mommy?” he asked, jarring Alex from her train of thought. She looked around and, sure enough, Lena was nowhere to be seen.

“Maybe Mama knows.” Alex moved over to the bed and gently nudged her sister’s shoulder. “Hey Sis…I think you might have misplaced something.” Kara opened her eyes just in time for Alex to set Cody right on her chest, taking care to avoid the stomach.

“When Santa get here, Mama?”

“Uh…soon? I think?” Kara glanced up at Alex as she spoke.

The elder Danvers nodded. “Yeah. Soon. So, where’s your better half?” she teased.

Kara frowned. “Lena’s not here? And hey!” she added, belatedly catching onto the comment.

“Haven’t seen her since you guys went to bed last night.”

Moving Cody, Kara sat up and looked around, eventually grabbing something off the nightstand. A note. She read it through a few times before crumpling it up and tossing it into the nearest wastebasket. “ _I don’t believe her!_ ” she muttered in Kryptonese. Probably so Cody wouldn’t catch on.

“ _What did she do?_ ”

" _Rao…I’m going to kill her! She promised she’d leave it until tomorrow, at least!_ ”

“ _Leave what?_ ”

“ _You know what!_ ” Kara snapped, glaring at her accusingly. It took a moment for Alex to remember a certain problem that had been plaguing the CEO as of late. A stalker of the immortal variety. Lena had been doing her best to avoid a confrontation, but it had become increasingly clear that the creep wouldn’t stop harassing her unless someone stopped him. Permanently. The last straw had been when he’d shown up at Cody’s preschool, trying to claim that Lena had sent him to pick the boy up. Thankfully, the teacher – an empath from Cyrias III – had sensed the stalker’s bad intentions and called Lena instead. And Lena had spent the past few weeks working with Ben to prepare herself for what would be her first immortal fight. It was a miracle she’d gone this long without having to take someone’s head, but they all knew it would happen sooner or later. Just not today.

Alex sighed. “ _I know you’re pissed, and you’re right…Lena should’ve waited. She and I will be having a long talk when she gets home._ ”

“ _If she gets home,_ ” Kara grumbled. “ _Rao…what will I tell Cody if things go wrong?_ ”

Alex sat down on the bed next to Kara, cupping her sister’s cheeks. “ _Lena will be fine, Kar. I promise. Ben has been around a long time, which means he’s one of the best there is. He’s taught Lena just about everything he knows. And she has you, Cody, and the baby to come back to. Believe me, that’s all the motivation she needs to kick this guy’s ass. I’m sure she’ll be here in plenty of time for dinner._ ”

“ _I hope you’re right, Lexie._ ”

“ _I know I am._ ”

“Why you guys talk funny?” Cody suddenly piped up.

Kara smiled, sitting him on her lap. “We were speaking Kryptonese. It’s the language they used on my home planet. I’ll teach it to you someday.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart,” Kara nodded, using her finger to draw an ‘x’ across her chest.

Cody returned the nod. “Where Mommy?”

“She’s busy.”

“Why?”

Alex picked Cody up and set him on her own lap before Kara could respond. “Your Mommy had to do something at work. Something very important. But she’ll be here soon.” Before she could say anything else, the doorbell rang.

Kara frowned. “Is that…?”

“If it is, he’s early.” Alex moved Cody back to the bed. “I’ll go check.” She turned to Cody. “Think you can sit here with your Mama for a few minutes?”

“Why?”

“Because Jamie wants you to wait for her so you can see what’s under the tree together.” At the moment, it was just the gifts that were officially from herself, Maggie, Kara, and Lena, but that would still be enough to get Cody all excited again. “Can you do that?”

“Uh-huh,” he nodded. “Open presents soon?”

“Soon,” Alex assured him, dropping a quick kiss on his fuzzy head. The doorbell rang again, and she ran downstairs, throwing open the door to reveal Winn and Vasquez. “You’re early,” she grunted.

“And I come bearing gifts.” Winn held out a tray of coffees, and next to him Vasquez was holding several boxes of donuts.

Alex immediately snatched up the cup with her name on it, taking a long sip. “Just what the doctor ordered. Congratulations, Schott. You get to live another day.”

“Uh…thanks? I think.”

Vasquez nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “What he means to say is ‘Merry Christmas,’ and thank you for the invite.”

“What she said,” Winn muttered, rubbing his side. He handed over the coffee tray. “I’ll just go get the actual gifts out of the car….” As he retreated, Alex took the rest of the coffee into the kitchen and set it on the island. Vasquez was right behind her with the donuts.

“Would you like them here, Ma’am?” she asked, indicating the island.

“That’s fine. And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Ma’am outside of work?”

“At least once more, Ma’am.”

Rolling her eyes, Alex raised her cup for another sip when the doorbell rang again. “Oh, for the love of….” She set her cup back down and returned to the door. Winn was once again on the other side, hidden behind a stack of brightly-wrapped boxes.

“Look who I found!”

Glancing past him, she saw James and Lucy, the photographer holding several gift boxes of his own. “Merry Christmas, bitches!” Lucy slurred, throwing her arms around Alex. The smaller woman smelled like she’d bathed in rum.

“Hitting the eggnog a bit early aren’t we, Luce?”

Lucy scoffed. “You try staying sober after a 5 AM phone call saying your asshole father wanted to speak to you from fucking prison.”

“Been there, done that!” Winn called out from the family room, where he and James were adding the boxes they’d brought to the ones already under the tree.

“See! He gets it! Anyway…how are the kids? I can’t wait to see the little angels.”

“Not like this. Sober up first. And watch your language!”

“Please…you’re worse than I am.”

“Not around them. Now go get yourself some coffee. And maybe a shower.”

“Yes, mother,” Lucy grumbled, stalking off towards the kitchen. Alex sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she wondered if this was what it was like having teenagers. She glanced up to see that everyone had moved into the kitchen and was starting on the food and coffee, but before she could join them something set off her senses. A moment later, the doorbell rang again. Alex opened the door to find Jeremiah on the other side, carrying a couple of gift bags.

“Dad.”

“Hi sweetheart.” He moved in for a hug, but Alex found herself taking a step back. In her head, she knew that the vile being she’d interacted with inside Cadmus was long gone, but convincing the rest of her was taking time. Smiling in understanding, her father gently squeezed her shoulder instead. “Are the kids still upstairs?”

She nodded. “We’re still waiting on you-know-who.”

“Of course. I’ll just go set these under the tree.” He moved inside, and Alex couldn’t help but notice who wasn’t with him.

“Where’s Mom?”

He sighed. “She had some sort of science conference in Geneva. I tried to talk her into cancelling, but she thought it might still be awkward and she didn’t want to ruin the kids’ fun. At least, that’s what she claimed.”

“In other words, she doesn’t want me reaming her out in front of everyone for skipping Kara and Lena’s Kryptonian ceremony and breaking my sister’s heart.” Alex shook her head. “I thought her blaming me for Kara’s decisions was bad enough, but her disowning Kara over a decision I made….” She trailed off, using some of the yoga meditation techniques Maggie taught her to calm herself. “I get why she’s mad at me for not telling her about the immortal thing. Kara did nothing wrong, though, and this rift with Mom has been eating at her. She may not say so aloud, but I’m her sister. I know when she’s hurting. And Mom bailing on Christmas on top of everything else won’t help. For God’s sake, it’s been over a year and a half. How long can Mom hold a grudge?”

“You’d be surprised,” Jeremiah shrugged. “She’s barely talking to me. And she has every right to be upset about my hiding such a huge part of my life from her. The fact that ‘Jeremiah Danvers’ has officially been dead for nearly 15 years just makes things easier.”

Alex’s eyebrow shot up. “Easier?”

“Can Kara hear us?”

“We lined the guest room with lead so that when she stays over she doesn’t have to work so hard to filter out the outside noises while she sleeps. Just like Lena did for their bedroom at their place. So, no. Why?”

“Because the truth is, I haven’t actually been back to Midvale since I left for that mission. I’ve been living in an apartment here in National City.”

“I know that. You stuck around here to help me.”

“And because your mother wants nothing to do with me anymore. Says she doesn’t know who I am. Which, to be fair, is mostly true. But I don’t really know her that well these days either. We talk on the phone when it has to do with you and Kara, but there hasn’t been an ‘us’ since I ‘died.’ And I realize Kara has a right to know, but I’d prefer to wait. You know how much Christmas has always meant to her. I don’t want to ruin it.”

“Great,” Alex muttered, running a hand down her face as she sagged back against the nearest wall. “You and Mom are effectively divorced, Mom’s bailed on Christmas, Lucy showed up completely blitzed, and Lena’s buggered off to take care of that stalker creep. What else could go wrong?”

Jeremiah chuckled. “If it makes you feel any better, for your first Christmas I nearly burned the house down trying to bake the perfect Christmas cookies. I know you were too young to eat them, but it was part of the whole experience.”

“Wait…you’re hundreds of years old and you couldn’t manage a simple batch of cookies?”

“These modern ovens are surprisingly complicated,” he shrugged. “Point is, these things never turn out the way you imagine them. You just have to roll with it. Trust me on this.”

“I suppose….”

“Anyway…I can’t do much about your mom or Lena, but I do know a few tricks for sobering someone up quickly. So why don’t I take care of Lucy? Not to mention make sure there’s actually food left for when the rest of you join us.”

“Thanks, Dad. That’d be great. Just promise me you’ll tell Kara what’s really going on with you and Mom once Christmas is over with.”

“Will do.”

“Good,” she smiled, managing a quick kiss on his cheek before taking the gift bags from him and heading to the living room. She put them under the tree with the others and checked her phone. There was a text waiting for her that simply said ‘ **on my way.** ’ Not expecting anyone else, Alex started for the stairs, only to have the lift doors open to reveal the very people she was planning to check on.

“Ma-ma!” Jamie called out from her seat on Maggie’s lap, dressed in a long-sleeved onesie with a snowman on it that said ‘Jamie’s First Christmas.’ Maggie had also added a pair of black pants and soft shoes with jingle bells attached. Smiling, Alex went over and drew her fiancé into a lingering kiss before scooping her daughter up.

“Morning, sweet pea! Merry Christmas!”

“Cri-mas!”

“That’s right,” Alex grinned. “Shall we go see who’s waiting for us in the kitchen?”

Maggie looked at her, confused. “Kitchen?”

“Gang’s all here. With coffee and donuts.”

“Great,” Maggie smiled, moving her chair forward as Gertrude trotted along beside her. “Want me to text Kara and let her know it’s okay to bring Cody down?”

“Go right ahead. Just ask her to keep Cody out of the living room for now.”

“Gotcha.” Stopping long enough to send out the text, Maggie and her canine companion headed into the kitchen, Alex following behind them with Jamie. Everyone exchanged Christmas greetings (Lucy grunting hers from the corner as she drank whatever concoction Jeremiah had cooked up), and then tried to converge on the baby.

“One at a time,” Alex warned. “I know she’s adorable, but I won’t have you overwhelming her.” Thankfully, before anyone could start bickering over who got her first, Jamie solved the issue by reaching for Jeremiah.

“Paw-Paw!”

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he cooed, gently plucking her from Alex’s arms. “You’re such a smart girl.” Preening at the praise, Jamie started babbling nonsensically, Jeremiah listening as though it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever heard. Alex felt an arm around her waist and looked down to see Maggie next to her.

“He’s so good with her.”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “Hard to believe he was ever Cadmus’ evil puppet.”

“You’re still having issues with that, aren’t you?”

Alex sighed. Maggie knew her all too well.

“I’m working on it, Mags.”

“Hey, there’s no timetable for dealing with trauma. But trusting him with Jamie is a pretty big step forward. I’m proud of you, babe.” She tugged Alex down for a quick kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Before either of them could say anything else, a tiny brown streak ran past them and practically launched himself at Jeremiah’s legs.

“Grampa!”

“Hey, Slugger!” Jeremiah grinned, using his free arm to scoop the boy up. “You been a good boy for Santa?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You sure?”

“Grampa!”

Jeremiah laughed. “Just checking.”

“CoCo!” Jamie shouted, grabbing at her cousin’s nose.

Alex glanced over at Maggie. “That’s a new one.”

“What can I say?” Maggie shrugged. “Our girl is smart. Just like her Mama.”

Meanwhile, Cody frowned, batting the hand away. “I’m Cody! Not CoCo.”

“CoCo!” Jamie insisted.

“Cody!”

Laughing, Kara – who’d come in just after Cody – gently plucked him from Jeremiah’s arms. “Jamie knows who you are, Cody,” she assured her son. “She just can’t pronounce your name properly yet. Think of it as your own special nickname, just for you two. Okay?”

“Kay,” he nodded, turning to Jamie. “You call me CoCo.”

“CoCo!” Jamie reached for Cody again, squirming in Jeremiah’s arms until he brought her close enough to land a big, sloppy kiss on her cousin’s furry cheek.

“Ew!” Cody squealed, wiping it away. Jamie started crying, and Alex quickly reclaimed her daughter from Jeremiah, bouncing her a bit as she walked around the kitchen.

“Shh…it’s okay sweet pea. Cody didn’t mean anything by it. You just surprised him, is all.” As she spoke, Alex glanced around to find that her nephew had already moved on and was currently pestering Uncle Winn, demanding chocolate milk to go with his donuts. And, of course, Winn caved immediately. Laughing to herself at how easy it was to push Schott around – at least, when your last name was Danvers – Alex put Jamie in her high chair and broke up a plain donut into small pieces, which she scattered on the tray. Jamie only had a couple of teeth, but she loved food almost as much as her aunt and was always eager to try new things. After a couple of tries, Jamie managed to snag a piece and shove it in her mouth. She appeared a bit uncertain as she chewed, but her expression quickly turned to delight as she swallowed the first piece and snagged another. “Good, isn’t it?” Alex grinned, dropping a quick kiss on her daughter’s forehead before grabbing her own breakfast and joining Maggie at the table. She watched Kara give Jeremiah a hug, and there was a quiet exchange. Kara didn’t look pleased – presumably over Eliza’s absence – but she seemed to recover as soon as someone pointed her towards the food. The donuts and coffee were just about gone when the doorbell rang again, and a quick glance at her phone told Alex that it was the person they’d been waiting for. “Hey Cody…I think that’s for you.”

Not needing to be told twice, Cody dashed towards the front door as Alex lifted Jamie from the high chair and followed behind. Everyone else crowded in the hallway to watch as he opened the door to reveal a large, dark-skinned man with a white beard and a familiar red coat. “Santa!”

“Merry Christmas!” Santa laughed, kneeling down to put himself on Cody’s level. “Have you been a good boy this year?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Then Santa has something very special for you.” He stepped back outside for a moment, returning with a small bicycle (with training wheels) and a number of brightly-wrapped packages. Squealing with delight, Cody started ripping into the packages with abandon, revealing – among other things – a soccer ball, some Duplo sets, and a child-sized version of J’onn’s Chevy/spaceship. Thankfully, Winn had put that last one together. And tinkered with it, apparently, since the push of a button retracted the wheels and made the car hover. Alex wasn’t sure if he’d borrowed DEO tech without asking (again) or if it was an L-Corp innovation, but her nephew’s excited reaction was enough to put those questions on hold (for now). She caught sight of James snapping pictures and made a mental note to get copies from him later as she brought her daughter closer to Santa. “And how are you doing, little one?” he asked.

Jamie cocked her head, almost like a dog listening to a high-pitched sound. “Pop-Pop?”

“No, silly,” Cody called out from the seat of his car. “That not Pop-Pop. It Santa!”

Frowning, Jamie turned to her Mama, and Alex froze. ‘Pop-Pop’ was what she and Cody had been calling J’onn. On the one hand, Alex was proud that her little girl was intelligent enough to see past the shift, even at such a young age. But she also didn’t want to shatter her nephew’s illusions. She looked to ‘Santa,’ who also seemed uncertain how to proceed.

“Come here, kiddo,” Maggie suddenly said, moving into the living room and gesturing for Cody to climb into her lap. As he settled in, she winked at Alex and ‘Santa’ before giving their nephew her full attention. “Want to know a secret?” Cody nodded. “A lot of people don’t know this, but Santa has a very special power. When I was your age, my Papi told me all about it. He said that many years ago, a group of schoolteachers wrote a letter to Santa when their students asked a question they couldn’t answer. The students wanted to know if Santa could be black, or female, or anything other than what all the movies and pictures showed. And Santa wrote them back right away. The letter went like this: 

 

 

> “ _Once a storywriter caught me bringing you toys./_ _The year he spied me opening my sack,/My skin was white, my boots were black./You probably know how that story goes . . ./I laid a finger aside my nose?/All these years, needlessly,/That story worries children who don’t have a chimney./All year long I listen to the news, /Read people’s thoughts, see people’s views./At the end of the year, when I see what’s needed most,/I take that shape, like a Christmas ghost./I can pass through keyholes, windows and locks,/Apartment buildings, hospitals, tents, and trailer lots./One year I used a wheelchair in place of my sleigh,/Once I was blind and had to feel my way./It’s hard to understand when I don’t leave a toy:/You can’t unwrap a gift like hope or health or joy./My skin has been black, white, yellow, red, brown;/ My eyes have been slanted, crossed, and round./Sometimes I have been a she:/All these things are a part of me./You may not believe all this is true,/But that’s okay, boys and girls, because . . ./I believe in you._ ”

As the recitation came to an end, everyone clapped, including Cody, and Maggie took a little bow. But then Cody frowned. “What that have to do with Pop-Pop?”

Maggie smiled. “You see, Jamie is too little to understand who Santa is. But she knows your Pop-Pop. And like the poem said, Santa takes the shape needed most. In this case, it’s someone she recognizes and trusts. Okay?”

“Kay,” he nodded. “I go play now?”

“Sure,” Maggie laughed, ruffling the fur on his head as she sent him back to his new toys. Alex nodded to ‘Santa,’ who stepped out to retrieve Jamie’s gifts, and then joined her fiancé in the living room.

“Nice save,” she whispered as she deposited Jamie in her Mami’s lap. “Did you come up with that on your own?”

“No. Papi really did tell us that story when Teo and I were young. Pretty sure he got it from a magazine or something.”

“Ah. Speaking of your brother, is he coming this year?”

Maggie shook her head. “He, Tom, and little Andre are in Blue Springs to spend the holiday with Tia Angelina. But they’ll be here for New Year’s.”

“Good,” Alex nodded.

‘Santa’ chose that moment to walk back in, this time with an elf (M’Gann, she assumed). They set the gifts out in front of Maggie’s chair. The larger ones – a baby swing, a walker, an activity table, and a fancy musical play set that had a seat like the walker and a step-on piano underneath – had been left unwrapped, and there were a number of smaller ones as well. Mostly clothes and small toys, which Maggie unwrapped for Jamie (who seemed only mildly interested until they came to a colorful, oddly-shaped teething toy, which she promptly shoved into her mouth). Cody acted a bit jealous of the number of gifts his cousin received until Kara gently reminded him that the thought behind the gifts was more important than how many.

“Santa has to go now,” the man in red boomed as Jamie’s last gift was unwrapped. “Merry Christmas, children! See you next year!”

“Bye, Santa!” Cody called out from where he was playing with his blocks. With one last wave, ‘Santa’ and his helper walked out. A few minutes later, J’onn and M’Gann walked in, carrying gifts of their own.

J’onn made a show of looking around as he entered. “Did we miss him?”

“Sorry, Pop-Pop,” Cody shrugged. “Santa gone.”

“That’s okay. Maybe next year. Come here.” He knelt down, setting his packages aside, and Cody ran right to his arms for a big hug. “And where’s my favorite little girl?”

At that, Jamie looked up, abandoning the teething toy. “Pop-Pop!” She reached out, and J’onn scooped her right up from Maggie’s lap.

“Well,” Alex chimed in. “Now that just about everyone’s here, why don’t we dig into the rest of these gifts?” The words were barely out of her mouth before Cody abandoned the blocks and made a beeline for the tree. Kara managed to scoop him up before he could start opening gifts at random.

“How about we let Aunt Lexie hand them out?” she suggested.

“Kay.”

With a whispered ‘thanks’ to her sister for the timely intervention, Alex went to the tree and started sorting out the gifts, making a pile for each person and setting Lena’s to one side. “Okay, kids first.” She wanted to suggest they go in order of age, but Cody wouldn’t have the patience and Jamie was too little to really understand anyway, so she just let her nephew go for it while Maggie took care of their daughter’s gifts. Cody received more new toys – including a kid’s tablet, which Winn already loaded up with age-appropriate apps – while Jamie’s gifts were a mixture of toys and clothes. Between ‘Santa’ and everyone else, their daughter had more new outfits than she’d be able to wear before she outgrew them. And among the gifts had been ‘Ellie,’ the stuffed elephant Alex had carried everywhere when she was a child. Jeremiah had apparently found it in storage and decided to pass it on to the next generation. Of course, the first thing Jamie did once Alex got her to look at the doll was jam the trunk in her mouth. But Ellie had dealt with worse, and it seemed to keep Jamie happy.

Once the children had finished, Alex set Jamie in her new walker (elephant and all) to keep her occupied while the adults did their exchange. They let Kara go first, since she was the youngest, and – aside from a framed picture from James and a gift from Lucy that, based on the way Kara blushed, had to be bordering on inappropriate – most of the gifts were things for the baby. Blankets and bottles and onesies, all of which were in gender-neutral colors. Alex and Maggie had given her the crib that Jamie had outgrown (which they’d reinforced with inertron from the DEO just in case Baby Danvers-Luthor started displaying super strength early on), and Winn had even supplied a super high-tech baby monitoring system that included something she could carry while she was on duty. Then Kara got to the gift that Lena had left under the tree and suddenly burst into tears. “You okay, Little Danvers?” Maggie asked softly.

Kara nodded, wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her pajamas as she lifted the item from the box. It looked like one of those medieval Bibles, only with Kryptonese script on the spine where the title should be. “This is the Book of Rao,” she breathed. “I’ve never seen it in this form before except in museums. How did Lena get this?”

“I seem to recall her having a private chat with Kelex when you guys were there for your ceremony,” Alex chimed in. “My guess is that either the robot got it for her or she and your cousin have been pretty sneaky.”

“Maybe….” Trailing off, Kara opened the book, eyes welling up again as she read whatever was on the first page.

“What’s it say?” Lucy called out.

Kara read it aloud in Kryptonese, then translated. “For Kara – my light, my love, my heart, my soul. May we walk together forever in Rao’s blessed light.”

Lucy sighed dreamily, then smacked James on the shoulder, causing him to yelp. “What was that for?”

“Why can’t you be that romantic?”

“Because I don’t have billions of dollars and unlimited access to alien technology.”

“So?”

Rolling her eyes, Alex stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled, putting a stop to the argument. “Let’s move on, shall we?” She grabbed the piles for Winn and Vasquez and let them have at it. Predictably, the gifts for both were a mixture of fancy tech stuff and sci-fi collectables (most of the latter going to Winn). The most satisfying part was watching Winn geek out over the authentic _Empire Strikes Back_ lightsaber that Alex and Maggie had spent considerable hours (and a good bit of their savings) trolling Ebay to obtain. And Sue was just as appreciative of the vintage computer they’d also found on the site.

James and Lucy went next. Alex and Maggie had gotten them a bottle of some rare wine Lena had recommended and a gift certificate to a restaurant Lucy had been obsessing over since her brief stint as Cat Grant’s GC, and everyone else seemed to have had similar ideas. Except Kara, who’d gotten James an old-fashioned camera and Lucy an autographed copy of Cat Grant’s second autobiography.

J’onn’s gifts included a ‘Universe’s Best Boss’ mug (Winn), a set of green fuzzy dice (Kara), and a book of Martian fables that Kelex had managed to produce after some persuasion from Alex. Maggie, on Jamie’s behalf, had thrown in a t-shirt that said ‘My Favorite People Call Me Grandpa.’ Jeremiah got one as well, along with a bottle of tequila (Alex) and a high-end telescope (Kara). And Cody had drawn pictures for them both (which Kara and Lena had framed). For M’Gann, Alex and Maggie had found a bottle of some Martian alcohol with a name they couldn’t pronounce. The rest of M’Gann’s gifts were similarly themed, probably because – even after almost two years – the White Martian was still very much a mystery to all but J’onn. But M’Gann seemed touched by the gifts nonetheless. “Thank you, everyone,” she nodded after opening the last package (the complete collection of _Alien_ movies, courtesy of Winn). “I am honored to have been included in your celebration.” This was actually her first Christmas with the whole family, having spent the previous winter on Mars, helping other like-minded White Martians fight a rebellion.

Kara smiled, pulling the older woman into a hug. “You’re family. That’s what Christmas is all about.”

“Damn straight,” Alex added. She would have said more, but Jamie suddenly started wailing. Following the sound, the immortal found her daughter in a tug of war with Cody over the Chewbacca doll Winn had given him in addition to the tablet. They’d both apparently wandered into the hallway while the adults were otherwise occupied.

“Give it back!” One final pull ripped the toy from Jamie’s hands and made her cry even harder. Alex immediately picked Jamie up out of the walker and hugged her to her chest.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” she soothed. “Where’s Ellie?” As she spoke, Alex glanced around, eventually locating the elephant under the hall table. She nudged the toy out from its hiding place with her foot and scooped it up. “Found her!” she smiled, showing Jamie the doll. The crying tapered off, and Ellie’s ear soon found its way into Jamie’s mouth. Her daughter satisfied for the moment, Alex turned to her nephew. “What happened?”

“Jamie stealed Chewy!”

“Stole,” Alex corrected. “And she doesn’t know any better. She’s too little to understand the difference between her toys and yours.”

Cody pouted, crossing his arms and glaring. “She too little for everything!”

“I know. But she’ll learn soon enough. You just have to be patient with her until then. Try your best to show her instead of getting angry. Can you do that?”

“I guess,” Cody finally conceded. A moment later, Alex turned to see Kara approach, followed by Maggie.

Her sister looked down at Cody, and then at her. “Everything okay over here?”

“It’s fine. Just a minor disagreement. I took care of it. We all good here, bud?” she added, turning to her nephew.

Cody nodded. “I good. We watch movie now?”

“Sure,” Kara smiled. “Go find Uncle Winn…see if he’ll go put the Muppets in for you.”

“Kay!” Cody took off, grabbing Winn from the living room and practically dragging him over to the den where the TV was. Jamie was still engrossed in whatever she was doing with Ellie, but Alex noticed a certain smell drifting up from her bottom.

“I think someone needs a change.” As she spoke, something brushed against her senses, and it wasn’t Jeremiah.

Somehow picking up on the fact that she’d sensed someone, Maggie quickly reclaimed Jamie from Alex’s arms. “I’ve got her. You go find out what’s up.” She sat their daughter in her lap and headed for the changing table they kept downstairs, Gertrude right behind her, while Alex moved to the front door. Glancing through the peephole, Alex breathed a sigh of relief when she found that it was Lena.

“Took you long enough,” the immortal muttered as she opened the door for her sister-in-law. “I take it the creep is no longer an issue?”

“Obviously. And I had a few errands to run after I finished.” She sighed. “Was Kara worried?”

“What do you think?” The words were barely out of her mouth before Kara practically bowled her over in her haste to embrace her wife.

“Oh thank Rao,” she breathed, clinging to Lena as though her life depended on it. “Don’t ever do that to me again!”

Smiling, Lena drew Kara into a kiss. “I’ll try. Did I miss much?”

“Santa was here.”

“Oh really? Please tell me there are pictures.”

“Of course,” Kara nodded. “James has it covered.” They glanced towards the living room, and the photographer gave them a thumbs-up. “Anyway…you also missed most of the gift exchange. We just have yours, Alex’s and Maggie’s to go. Thanks for the book, by the way. It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it. And I’ll open mine later. You’re all the gift I need.” They kissed again, parting as wolf whistles filtered in from the living room.

“Way to go, Luthor!” Lucy cheered.

James snorted. “Yeah. Stop setting the bar so high, damnit!”

“He’s got a point,” Alex laughed. “I mean, I thought Maggie and I were sappy, but you two take the friggin cake.”

Lena rolled her eyes, but before she could comment a tiny brown blur came running at her legs. “Mommy!”

“Hi baby,” she cooed, picking Cody up. “Did Santa give you lots of gifts?”

“Uh-huh. I got a bike, and blocks, and a flying car….”

Lena’s eyebrow shot up. “A flying car?”

“It look just like Pop-Pop’s car, and it can fly! For real!”

“Wow. Sounds like you had a good day.”

“I did!” Cody hugged Lena around her neck, then pulled back and frowned. “Where you been, Mommy?”

“I had to take care of something for work. But it’s done now, and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“Promise?” Cody asked. “You stay?”

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. Promise.” Lena kissed Cody on the head. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Mommy. I go watch Muppets now? Uncle Winn waiting.”

Lena laughed. “Go on. And tell Uncle Winn thank you.”

“Kay.” Lena put him down and he ran right back to the den. She turned back to Kara and Alex.

“Thank you for not saying anything to him. I don’t want him to worry every time I leave the house.”

Alex nodded. “I get it. But a little warning next time would be nice. And maybe don’t run off to fight creepy stalkers on major holidays.”

“Fair enough,” Lena conceded.

“I thought I heard your dulcet tones.” They turned to see Maggie approach, with Jamie on her lap and Gertrude trotting along by her side. “I take it you’ve dealt with whatever got you out of the house at oh dark thirty on Christmas morning?”

Lena nodded. “It’s done. And I picked up that thing you asked me to get.”

“Good.” Alex was a bit confused by the exchange, but figured it had to do with someone’s gift. A thought that was confirmed when Lena handed over a wrapped package.

“Let’s get back to the party, shall we?” Lena smiled, wrapping an arm around Kara and putting her other hand on her wife’s stomach. Kara laid her hand on top Lena’s as the two shared what was clearly a private moment before joining the others in the living room. The younger Danvers reclaimed her seat in the comfy chair and spent a few minutes showing Lena all the gifts they’d received for the baby. And her pout was enough persuasion to get Lena to open her gifts. Since the Luthor heir was disgustingly rich, most of the gifts were of a more personal nature. Alex and Maggie – with some help from Ben – had managed to track down a very rare Japanese sword that had been made by the same hand who’d crafted the one wielded by MacLeod. “Oh my,” Lena breathed. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I wanted to. Maybe I’m not your teacher, but I still feel responsible for you in a way. And you should have a sword that fits who you are. Elegant, but dangerous. In a good way, I mean.”

Lena nodded. “Thank you. I love it.” She carefully set the blade aside and resumed opening gifts. Kara’s was a portrait of their family that she’d painted herself, James gave her a framed photograph he’d taken of Guardian in action, Lucy’s gift was something Lena refused to show the rest of the group (probably something at least borderline inappropriate), and Winn and Vasquez presented her with a prototype and blueprints for a new device they’d designed for L-Corp (which they were handing over with no expectation of receiving any credit or anything, since – as Winn explained – the tech itself was more important). Jeremiah gave her some old relic he’d held onto that had once belonged to one of the more honorable Luthor ancestors, and J’onn and M’Gann’s gift was some tech that had been recovered from Mars. As she set aside the last gift and thanked everyone, Lena’s phone buzzed like she’d received a text. She checked the screen and moved to the front door, speaking briefly to whoever was on the other side before returning to the living room. And when she returned, there was a small white puppy in her arms.

“Lee?” Kara asked, getting up and moving towards her wife. “Is that…?”

Lena nodded. “It seems that Kryptonian canines are genetically compatible with Terran ones.”

“Wait,” Maggie frowned. “Hold on a sec. Since when are there Kryptonian dogs on Earth?”

Kara suddenly found the floor very interesting. “Did I forget to mention that Kal has a dog named Krypto that was sent here the same way we were?”

“Right….And I take it Krypto got a little too friendly with the neighbor’s dogs?”

Lena laughed. “Got it in one, Sawyer. At least, that’s what Clark told me.”

“Was that Kal at the door?” Kara asked.

“No. He and Lois are at the Kent Farm today. Mon-El dropped the pup off for him.” Lena handed the pup to Kara, who looked like she was about to float away from sheer happiness. “So what do you think? Shall we keep her?”

“Are you kidding? I’m never letting her go. Does she have a name yet?”

“I was thinking of calling her Dany.”

Alex smiled. “Dany, as in Daenerys, the Mother of Dragons?”

“Nerd,” Maggie snorted.

“You know you love it.”

“Yeah…I do.” Maggie drew Alex into a lingering kiss as Kara continued to fawn over ‘Dany.’

“Nerd!” a small voice suddenly piped up. They broke the kiss and looked down to see their daughter giggling, looking quite pleased with herself.

Maggie laughed. “That’s my smart girl,” she cooed, hugging Jamie close.

Lena cleared her throat. “Why don’t we get the rest of these gifts out before Kara forgets why we’re here.”

“Hey!” Kara objected, still hugging the puppy. Everyone laughed as Lena retrieved Alex and Maggie’s gifts from under the tree and handed them over. Maggie went first. Lucy gave her a gun that had obviously been liberated from the DEO armory, James gave her a bottle of well-aged scotch, Winn and Vasquez had come up with some tech to turn their house into a ‘smart’ home (to a point, anyway) and make some things easier for her, and Lena had apparently been thinking along similar lines. She’d given Maggie an offer to make some modifications to her chair – on the house – to make it do whatever she wanted.

“I’ll have to think about that one, Lena,” Maggie smiled. “But I appreciate the offer.”

“It’s entirely up to you. Anything I can do to help.”

“Thanks.” She moved on to Kara’s gift, which was a hand-painted portrait of their family. Jeremiah gave her a musket (non-functioning) that dated back to the Tudor period, and J’onn and M’Gann gave her a bonsai tree and a gift certificate to her favorite Italian restaurant. And that was the last package. “Nothing from you, Alex?”

Alex smiled. “We’re spending a week in the Bahamas after the New Year, at that resort we found that does the thing with the dolphins.” While trying to come up with honeymoon ideas for when they eventually tied the knot, they’d come across a place that had a program where people with physical impairments could actually swim with the dolphins. Some kind of therapy or something.

“For real?”

“Yep. Kara and Lena already agreed to watch our little angel while we’re gone. And the other part of my gift is something you’ll have to open when we’re alone.” She winked, and Maggie actually blushed.

“I look forward to it.” She pulled Alex into another kiss. “Your turn.”

Nodding, Alex dug into her pile. A gun from Lucy (one of the DEO’s experimental prototypes), bourbon from James, a souped-up laptop for her lab from Winn and Vasquez, and the keys to a brand-new Ducati from Lena. “This is too much,” Alex protested.

“That’s what I said about the sword. And what’s the use of having money if I can’t spoil my family?”

“You have to keep it, Alex,” Kara added. “It goes with my gift.”

Frowning, Alex opened the package from Kara to find a new motorcycle helmet and leathers. The jacket had ‘Lexie’ airbrushed over the back, with a crossed sword and gun underneath. “Thanks guys. This is awesome.”

“Only the best for my big sister,” Kara grinned, laughing as the puppy chose that moment to lick her chin. Shaking her head, Alex set the gear aside and moved on to the rest of the gifts. An old book about swordsmanship from Jeremiah and a Martian weapon from J’onn and M’Gann. As she thanked them and set those aside, Maggie moved forward and handed over the package Lena had brought in.

“This is from me and Jamie.” Smiling, Alex opened the package to find a long leather coat. “I got Ben to help me track down the guy who helped Jo with the original, and he put this together for me. As an added bonus, it’s lined with the same material as the bodysuit from the original Guardian armor. Meaning it’s practically indestructible. He’s working on some for you guys, too,” she added, glancing at Lena and Jeremiah. “Those just aren’t ready yet.”

“I love it, Mags. Thank you.” They kissed, only to be interrupted when Cody came running in, squealing about the puppy. Kara sat ‘Dany’ on the floor, and the two seemed to become fast friends. Everyone laughed at Cody’s antics, and Alex felt Maggie wrap an arm around her waist once again.

“I don’t know about you, Danvers,” she whispered, “but I think this is the best Christmas we’ve ever had.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t perfect, but I can’t imagine our family any other way. I love you, Mags.”

“And I love you, Alex.”

“Now and forever…”

“…come what may.” Another kiss. “What do you say we get married in the spring?”

Alex stared for a moment, not sure she’d heard right. “You’re ready to set a date?”

“Why not? We’ve got the house…the kid…. I’d say it’s time.”

“Spring it is. But let’s hold off on telling Kara. Once she gets into wedding planning mode, that’s all we’ll hear about for the next few months. Just ask Lena.”

“Assuming your sister hasn’t already heard us.” They glanced over at Kara. At the moment, she seemed focused on her son and the puppy, but that didn’t mean her ears had stopped working. The perils of having a superpowered sibling.

“Oh well,” Alex shrugged. “Let’s just enjoy whatever time we have before Bridesmaidzilla rears her head.” She knelt down next to the chair, kissing her daughter on the forehead before returning her attention to her fiancé. “Merry Christmas, Mags.”

“Merry Christmas, Alex.” They kissed again, and for a moment it was as if the three of them were the only people in the world. Once they parted, Jamie managed to plant her own sloppy kisses on each of their cheeks and, of course, they both kissed her back. And Alex couldn’t help but smile. There was a time when she never thought she’d ever have this… a family of her own. And now that she did, Alex had no intention of ever letting them go…. 

**Author's Note:**

> As stated above, this is only the first one-shot. Please, feel free to leave prompts in the comments for future one-shots on this theme (i.e the Danvers-Sawyer family).


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